Opportunity
by Flick Hammer
Summary: Atem  finds the opportunity in life he never thought he'd have; to be in love. Yugi isn't exactly pleased when he finds out that the man of his partner's dream is Seto Kaiba.
1. The Meeting

I don't know how much longer I can stand to wander the same dark, cold stone hall ways. I've grown tired, bored even, with memorizing what lies behind every trap door. I inhabit the body of a young boy and yet all I manage to do is play these silly cards games that dare to mock what great powers Egypt once held in its fist.

I came close to drawing a map of this place since it's only Yugi and I that get the chance to explore inside it. But I quickly thought against it when I recalled all of the odd enemies we seem to make around nearly every corner. If someone had managed to get inside the puzzle, having a map would defeat the whole purpose of having the trapped doors in the first place. Yugi will figure the place out on his own.

Enough. I can't sit around anymore waiting for him to grace me with his presence.

_Yugi. There's something I'd like to discuss with you._

"_Sure, Pharaoh. I was about to go to bed anyway._" Replied the soft, childish voice that is, in fact, Yugi Moto of the tenth grade. Once I heard he was soon to go to sleep I took a non-physical form and sat at the end of his bed. When I took this form, he'd always stop talking to me in his head and he'd just speak out loud. I've always wondered what would happen if someone had overheard him. "What did you want to talk about?" He asked with that simple smile of his.

"_I'd like to do a bit of walking around. Get some fresh air and clear my thoughts_."

"Well, I suppose that's fair. But wouldn't I have to spend the night in the puzzle?" He looked concerned with those wide eyes of his.

"_You've got your own room in there_." I frowned.

"That doesn't make it any less creepy of a place..."

"_You look like a smaller version of me, anything in there won't dare bother you_." For some reason, looking like the Pharaoh of Egypt didn't have him jumping up and down with joy... "_Yugi, I'm asking you as a friend to do this for me just once._" He looked down at his hands for a while to make up his mind. Shortly after he looked up at me with his boyish smile and gave me a reassuring nod.

"Alright, Pharaoh. This night is yours." Graciously, I sunk back into the Millennium Puzzle only to switch places with the boy moments after.

That switch always takes up so much energy... I took some time to catch my head and reel it back in while I thought of an escape route. With Yugi's grandfather and mother in the house, I doubt I could just leave through the front door. I pulled the chained Millennium Puzzle off over my head and set it down on Yugi's bed.

"I'm sorry, Yugi, but I can't have you in my head tonight." I glanced out the bedroom window. No, it was far too high for me to jump. And there didn't appear to be anything I could use as a make shift ladder.

As I threw my jacket on over my shoulders and walked out the front door, shutting it carefully behind me, I almost brought myself to a laugh for thinking it was so difficult to get out. Yugi's mother's bedroom is right next to her father's. And her father snores louder than a Harpy Lady's screech and their only hint of a security system is a small bell over the top of the door to announce when there's a customer.

It doesn't take long to get to a park from the game shop that doubles as Yugi's house. The short walk was all I really needed, all I really wanted. I found myself sitting on a bench along side a trail for bikers and dog walkers, but of course no one was out this late at night. With a sigh I looked up at the black sky for just one moment and I'm not sure how... But I felt like I could relate to it.

"Yugi." That wasn't my name, I knew it wasn't. So why must I respond? I looked up from the bench to see someone I never thought I'd _ever_ see without a duel disk strapped to his arm. There didn't appear to be a deck of any sort on his presence. He wasn't even wearing his usual flashy coats that seemed to have an eight foot radius. I didn't respond to him, but I guess something was written on my face. "Yugi, what the hell are you doing here like this?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Kaiba. I haven't got my deck on me, so why don't you go find some other opponent." Just because I didn't see his deck didn't mean he didn't have one.

"I'm not here to duel, Yugi. I've got better things to do with my time this late at night." He always carried the same snarky tone in his voice, it may be odd but I think I've actually missed hearing him. But all of his beating around the bush was starting to irritate me. I was in no mood for his games.

"Then what could you possibly want with me?" I scowled at him. Even in the dark he looked surprised... I almost felt bad. But then he sat beside me on the park bench, it made a small creaking noise as he sat on it.

"What brings you here, Yugi, has that old grandpa of yours finally kicked the bucket?" I felt my eyes narrow, which in turn made him grin. "Lighten up, I'm kidding. There's no need to be so tense all the time, Yugi." I let out a sigh.

"Kaiba, that isn't funny.."

"Not to you, maybe. You've yet to answer me, Yugi." Part of me is sick of being called that name.. It took a bit of self control not to correct him.

"I'm just out clearing my head. What about you?"

"I needed to get away from Mokuba. So I left him with some trusted men of mine."

"Yeah, that seemed to work out swell last time.."

"Mokuba can contact me via Kaiba Corp. watch-mic if someone tries to kidnap him again."

"So we should be ending this conversation any minute now." His brilliantly blue eyes glared at me, piercing through the darkness.

"That isn't funny, Yugi."

"Not to you maybe." For some reason we both smiled after that. We even began to laugh with each other, who knew Kaiba could be so.. Human?

"I see you aren't wearing your puzzle today. Don't tell me you went and lost it."

"No, I just.. Couldn't have it weighing me down right now." A small ding came from Kaiba's wrist and out came a rusty little voice.

"_Seto! I need you to come back ASAP!" _Kaiba sighed at his little brother's announcement.

"Maybe I should just lock him up at night..." I laughed, though after I felt I shouldn't have. Kaiba stood up, leaving me alone on the bench once more. "Be careful around here at night, Yugi, it can be pretty dangerous." I nodded and he left without looking back even once. I don't know what compelled me to say what I said next. No one was around to hear it and no one was there to respond. So, there was no one around to learn.

"My name is _Atem.."_


	2. The Reoccurring Visitor

Yugi awoke in his bed wondering how he had been moved from the inside of the puzzle. He sat up while stretching his arms out over his head and then leaned back against the wall. The switch had left him exhausted even after all that sleep. He took the Millennium puzzle in hand and looked down at it with a smile, I felt like he was looking straight at me. It was one thing to be looked down on by someone shorter than me, but I just couldn't stand the feeling of those eyes pressing down on me like that. I jumped out of the puzzle in my non-physical form to sit on the end of Yugi's bed and finally get those eyes off of my back.

"_Did you sleep well, partner?_" Yugi had always smiled when I called him that, this time was no exception. He's asked me before where I got the idea to start calling him that, so I told him that I overheard two men call each other such a name and they appeared to be fairly close. I thought it was simply a way to tell Yugi I felt close to him, like a partner. But when I explained that to him he started laughing and never explained why.

"Yeah, I still feel pretty worn down from the switch though... I might skip school today to catch up on all the rest we've been missing." I shook my head.

"If_ we always stop to rest, we'll never adapt. Go to school, Tea and the others will be waiting for you._" The boy's face lit up like a torch in a dark cave and I felt a grin crawl over me. He was so fun to pick on, it was almost too easy.

"Hey, quit picking on me! It's not like that with Tea and me!" Yugi kicked out from under his covers and changed into his school uniform. "Lucky you, you don't have to get up and change." It was only then that I realized I was still in last night's clothing. Not that it mattered once Yugi and I swapped places again, I'd just take over whatever he was wearing. I chuckled from the end of his bed anyway, knowing full well what it was like to be that worn down. Just as Yugi was adjusting the collar of his shirt, his grandfather walked in with a confused sort of look on his face. I didn't flinch anymore when people came barging in through the door.

Yugi's the only one that can see me when I'm like this anyway.

"Yugi, who are you talking to in here?" Poor confused old man. I'd like to think of him as our personal advisor..

"No one, Gramps."

"_Correct, I am no one_." I said with a playful smirk, knowing only Yugi could hear me.

"Well... Alright, are you ready for school?"

"Almost, Gramps." The old man gave an understanding nod and left.

"You know that's not what I meant, Pharaoh."

"_Can't I have a little fun with this?_" I smiled. He sighed, wondering what he was going to have to do with me. "_Hurry up, you can't keep Tea waiting forever. Show her how cool a Pharaoh look alike can be."_

"Quit picking on me!" By now he had been yelling at me while stomping down the halls. I walked along side him, snickering at the odd looks his mother was giving him. "Besides, if something does wind up happening between us, I'd like her to love me for me. Not because I'm practically you." Keeping up the non-physical, almost ghostly, form was tiring. I sank back down into the puzzle around Yugi's neck.

_So I shouldn't be telling you what cool lines to use or be throwing out suggestions on how to handle certain situations?_

_"No, I mean... All that stuff just gets in the way anyway and I end up looking stupid."_

_That's just because you aren't doing it right... _Yugi sighed and headed for the front door.

"Later, Gramps!" And outside awaited the lovely Tea.

She towered over Yugi like the rest of the world and giggled as she leaned down a bit to talk to him. She had apparently been in a hurry this morning, without that blue necktie of hers tied up tight, the white shirt of her uniform fell loose. Apparently she's quite the fan of green polka dots...

"Good morning, Yugi!"

"Good morning, Tea."

_Yugi, I know it's tempting but don't look._

_"Don't look at what?" _

_You're just completely hopeless, aren't you?_

_"I don't know what you mean..."_

_"_So, Yugi. Who were you yelling at? I could hear you from out here." The girl blinked, honestly confused. She had already met me outside of our duels, so she knew full well that Yugi and I practically shared a mind and yet she still asks these silly questions. "And who were you hoping would like you for just being you?" Yugi's face lit up again.

"No one. Nothing. Let's go to school."

_There you go, calling me no one again. _I put a smirk in my voice to make up for the lack of an actual visual.

Who knew students were required to know such useless information? Next thing you know, they'll be teaching us how to hunt, kill, and clean up the mess.

"_You're exaggerating." _I rolled the eyes he couldn't see and sat back while Yugi and his friends gathered up to eat lunch. Yugi, of course, forgot his lunch again. One would think he'd be supplying for half a body instead of two. Hn.. I should tell him that joke later.

_Yugi, you're killing me here... If you forget your lunch again, I'm taking over for all of next week. Pay more attention. _

_"Sorry, Pharaoh... I guess I lost my head from being so tired this morning." _His friends, sorry, our friends had learned when Yugi went off into his head to talk to me. The funny look on his face gave it all away I suppose.

There aren't many blonde people in Japan, so I had to give Joey credit. But I guess the Brooklyn blood running through his veins sort of explains his survival here. Joey and Mai seem to be the only blonde people in all of Japan now that I think about it... Nah, I'm sure I'm just not paying enough attention to the people around us.

"Yo, Yuug." It must have been difficult learning Japanese with that accent of his.

"Yeah, Joey?"

"Hey uh.. Not for nothin', buddy. But was that you hangin' around Kaiba last night?"

"What?" Yugi blinked. "No, I was at home sleeping."

"You were?" Joey's head cocked over to the side, "Oh, I get it. Maybe you 'aughtta tell your Pharaoh friend to keep away from that guy. He ain't exactly user friendly."

"Joey, Kaiba is not a robot!" Tea chimed in. "There is no 'user log in' with Kaiba!"

"No, there is. We just haven't found it yet. And I'm gonna beat up the guy that put me on Kaiba's block list, that's gotta be the reason he hates me so much."

"Yeah,_ that's_ the reason alright." Tristan commented with a sly grin stretching from one ear to the other. Yugi chuckled.

"I'll talk to the Pharaoh about it, Joey, thanks for the warning. But we already know Kaiba isn't exactly the nicest guy on the block, so I don't know why they'd be hanging out in the first place."

_Oddly enough, it isn't actually that complicated._

"_We'll talk about it later."_

The bell rang. Lunch was over. Back to class.

I managed to get through all of Yugi's classes without falling asleep. I occupied myself by starting his homework for him and shuffling my deck. And after that I tried guessing which card was which without looking at them... Out of all forty cards, I only got one right; The Dark Magician. I sighed. Watching class was so boring.

As it turned out, we were supposed to hang out on the roof with our friends today. Yugi looked like he finally recovered from a long day of class while I on the other hand was still bored senseless.

They had all met up on top of the roof, the edges all gated off for obvious reasons. Yugi walked over to his usual spot by the gated edge to look over the town. Part of me thinks he likes it there just so he can imagine what it'd be like to be so tall, to see things from that angle. I should write these short jokes down somewhere so I don't forget them.

"Eek!" The three men of the group turned toward Tea.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Joey questioned, getting up from sitting on the ground.

"My shirts been open all day! Who knows what kind of perverts have been looking?" Joey and Tristan snickered, wide grins on their faces.

"Well, maybe no body would look if you didn't wear such vivid colors, Miss Bright Green." Tea's face lit up redder than the Eye of Ra. I wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or rage though.

"You guys! You're all pigs!" Tea looked over at Yugi, hoping for some kind words of comfort. But Yugi was too busy fluttering over the fact that her shirt had been open so unfortunately, all that came from him was an awkward silence.

"_Is that what you were telling me not to look at earlier today?" _I sighed. Tea tore her eyes off of Yugi and stormed off.

"Hey, I've gotta head out early today, guys. My grandmothers in town and she gets crabby if I'm not home before sunset." Tristan stood up and gave Joey a gentle punch in the arm. Joey laughed.

"Takin' orders from an old lady now, eh, Tristan? What does she call you? I bet it somethin' stupid like Tristy or Tristy-buns." Joey threw his arm around Tristan's shoulders and poked a finger at his cheek with that cocky grin of his. "So how 'bout it, Tristy? Wanna ask your granny if you'll be free tomorrow night? It'll be Friday y'know." Tristan shoved Joey away in clear annoyance. "Hey, what was that for?"

"My Gramgram is a nice old lady, and she doesn't call me those stupid names. I'll be at your place tomorrow night, Joey, don't worry about it." And with that Tristan took off as well. Joey was still snickering at his own comments.

"So how 'bout it, Yuug? What's the deal with the Pharaoh and Kaiba?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't gotten the chance to talk to him about it yet."

"Psh, bring the mook out here. I'll ask 'im myself."

"I don't think that'd be such a good idea..." Yugi smiled, not wanting to go back to a world of terrible exhaustion just yet. I have to admit though, he does a wonderful job of hiding it at school. Joey's eyes left Yugi's and began to gaze upon the door that lead up here from the school below. He was more interested in someone else now, a new body on the roof, a new voice in the conversation.

"Save your breath, Wheeler, I'm not looking for a welcome wagon. And don't think I wasn't aware of you snooping around last night."

"Listen, Kaiba. No one here wants anything to do wit'chya. So why don't you just scram?"

"It's my understanding that there are some attractive senior girls down stairs waiting for some pathetic blonde haired mutt. Know any?"

"I'm not sure if I should be excited or insulted."

"The answer is both, but go do it somewhere else." Kaiba kept his scowl the whole time.

"Fair enough, you win this round, rich boy." Joey waved to us, "Don't wait up, Yuug!" And he left us there with Kaiba. I wondered what he could possibly want, obviously there weren't any girls waiting for Joey downstairs... The sun was beginning to set.

Kaiba walked over to Yugi with some sort of evil in the blue of his eyes. He grabbed Yugi by the shoulders and pushed him up against the gated edge of the building. He leaned down and told us in a low voice, "Walk with me. I have a few questions that apparently only you can answer."


	3. The Confrontation

Yugi stood pressed against the gate with eyes wide with fear. He couldn't move, I could hear his inner voice demanding that he push Kaiba away and either get some answers or just ditch the place entirely. But nothing happened, the boy was paralyzed. Part of him was even terrified that the gate may break and he'd fall off the edge of the building.

_Yugi, you have to say something. Anything. Just open your mouth and make a noise, even. _

I considered taking over and getting this whole thing over with once and for all, but I thought that might look a little too suspicious. So, I did nothing but coach my terrified partner.

By the time Yugi managed to get his mouth open, Kaiba scoffed and finally backed away. And with his removal came a wave of relief and fresh air, room to breathe and even time itself slowed down. In what I'm sure is a record time of two and a half seconds, Yugi's little tense body of stone melted back into flesh.

"What was that all about, Kaiba?"

Kaiba had already turned to leave, "Are you coming or not?" he called over his shoulder without so much as a glance.

Yugi quickened his pace just to keep up, "So, are you going to answer me or am I expected to follow you blindly until you feel like talking?" I encouraged Yugi to keep up his current tone, in hopes that Kaiba would realize that his actions were beginning to feel excessive. "Where are we going, Kaiba? You should at least be able to tell me that much."

"I'm taking you to the only place I trust enough to even consider having such a serious discussion in. I wouldn't be caught dead handling this in public."

"_You know what that means."_

_Kaiba Corp. here we come... _

_"I wonder what he has to say that's so important... What did you do?"_

_As I've said, it's really not that complicated. We ran into each other at the park the other night. He may just want to ask you why I wasn't wearing the puzzle._

_"You didn't wear the puzzle?"_

_No, I left it at home so I could have some time to myself._

_"You left me at home?" _There was shock within his inner voice, disappointment wasn't too far away either. I wasn't about to start feeling bad for what I had done, everyone needs a touch of alone time here and there.

_Yes._

_"Hnn..." _It was getting late, the sun was on its way to settle down for the evening. I was used to all of the waiting, but Yugi was starting to get antsy.

At last, we had finally reached Kaiba Corporation's main building, also known as Kaiba's house. Yugi's head was full of different ways to describe how tired he was from all that walking, but his expression hadn't changed.

Kaiba took us inside and we were welcomed by a cold lobby with tiles as far as the eye could see. There was a desk in the back of the room with the Kaiba Corp. logo posted on the front so large that the nearest to blind could still see it. And just to be safe, the logo was posted again on the wall behind the desk in an even larger size. The two logos in the room seemed to be the only bits of color, every other inch of the room was drowned in white. The woman behind the counter greeted Kaiba with a smile but received nothing but a harsh, "Hold my calls". She didn't seem to mind, she must have been used to his behaviour by then. I wondered how long she had been working there.

We were hurried into an elevator and Kaiba pressed away at more buttons than I thought were necessary. Surely he was putting in some sort of code... Right? There couldn't be _that_ many floors. I wanted Yugi to ask for me but he turned me down and said that this wasn't the time for silly questions.

I knew that he was just as curious as I was.

"Kaiba, exactly how many floors does this building have...?" Yugi mentally kicked himself for giving into our curiosity.

"Yugi, don't ask such ridiculous things." Kaiba hadn't even turned to look, he just stared straight ahead.

"Right, sorry." He scowled off to the side but I knew it was meant for me.

Ding.

Floor CR.

_Correct me if I'm wrong, Yugi, but I don't think that's a number._

"_Maybe he uses roman numerals..?"_

_No, no. It's got to stand for something._

A computer generated voice spoke to us in the most welcoming voice technology could program, "Welcome to the Conference Room. Have a nice day."

"_Oh, that makes sense."_

Kaiba hadn't spoken much during the long walk here, not that I minded him keeping quiet for a change. Still though, it was odd. Yugi even seemed to think so, surely there was a reason behind his silence. Frankly, I'd like to know what it is so I can use it when I get tired of listening to him.

He led us into the large room with maroon carpet and a faded version of the same color was painted on every wall. There was one long table that stretched across the whole room and it was lined with chairs that looked more comfortable than our bed back at home. The room was much warmer than the lobby downstairs. The elevator door slid shut behind us.

"You know, Kaiba, it's getting late. I don't want my grandpa to worry."

"I've already taken care of that. I had someone call the old man after school to inform him that you wouldn't be home for quite some time."

Yugi was a bit irritated that Kaiba went ahead and cancelled any plans he had for going home without at least telling him first, "So, what did you need to talk about then?" I think it was all the waiting that made that sentence alone give me a full-on adrenaline rush. I couldn't slow down, I was ready. Ready for anything he could throw at us. Yugi and I were the perfect team, nothing could stop us. I wanted to end this once and for all.

"I brought you here because there are no cameras."

"You couldn't think of something more practical?"

"Would you prefer the restroom?"

"Can we please just get on with this?" We were ready, I could feel it.

"There are two of you, Yugi."

_Shit._

"Unlike everyone else, I've noticed your little change when you're dueling. The height and voice difference especially."

"Kaiba-" Something told me that Yugi wasn't going to get to say much.

"I'm not finished."

"I didn't think so." Yugi sighed.

"I've seen your entire personality just _switch_ in the blink of an eye. Your eyes grow cold and dark, Yugi, and so does the rest of you. Back in Duelist Kingdom when I threatened to jump off the edge to win the game, you called the attack."

"No, I-"

"But then you switched back and stopped it." Yugi sighed again.

"Kaiba, I don't want you to feel like I've been cheating in the tournaments. That isn't the case at all. Is that what this is about?"

"Don't play dumb, Yugi, I don't care about the stupid tournaments."

"_Should I just come out with it?"_

_We can't lie to him._

"_But if we're banished from future tournaments, you wouldn't be able to play anymore. I know it means a lot to you."_

_I'll be all right without card games, Yugi, the past should be put behind me anyway. And the Millennium puzzle will be a constant reminder to me regardless._

"So tell me, Yugi, what the hell is going on here?"

Yugi's stared down at the ground, "A long time ago, in ancient Egypt, they played a game similar to what we know today as Du-"

"Don't tell me you know that outrageous story too, Yugi."

"The pharaoh that sealed the evil away now resides in my Millennium puzzle, Kaiba, and I think I'm his reincarnation.. Or something along those lines. But he's the other me that everyone has been dueling, I let him take over because our game is so similar to theirs... I think it makes him feel more at home."

"I was afraid it'd be something ridiculous like that." Kaiba snarled, "Bring him to me."

"What?"

"Bring that bastard out here. I don't know how you two switch and I don't care. Just do it."

_Hn, I don't think I have my deck on me today. _

"We don't have our deck, Kaiba, you won't be able to du-"

"I don't plan on dueling him, Yugi."


	4. The Opportunity

I stood before Kaiba, scowling before our conversation had even begun. I suppose it was the sensation of knowing he was right that made him smirk in a way that sent chills through my entire body. No good could come out of what ever it was he wanted me for. I felt slightly dizzy from that change but soon got over it; I was too busy trying to figure out what Kaiba wanted to even bother with such things. Although, Kaiba has always been the sceptical sort, he may have just wanted some evidence of the whole situation.

"There you are."

"What is it that you want?" It almost felt odd hearing my voice out loud instead of Yugi's.

"It's you I've been dueling."

"Are you listening at all?"

"_Does Kaiba ever actually listen?"_

_Touché, Yugi. _

Kaiba brought himself closer with one wicked step after another, the look on his face filled me with regret as I found myself wishing I had never switched places with Yugi. I moved back in perfect unison with his advancing steps until I could move no further, the previously comforting walls were now my biggest obstacle.

Before I could escape the very prison that was the wall directly behind me, Kaiba stopped. There was no longer enough room for him to keep moving forward... With no warning at all he slammed his hand against the wall space beside me and leaned down so that we'd be at eye level. I recalled how badly Yugi wanted to shove him away when he had done something similar to just earlier today, and I wondered why I didn't feel the same way.

I had never seen Kaiba so close to me, nor had I ever wanted to. I never wanted to see my reflection in the brilliant blue of his eyes and yet there I stood, staring back at myself. His face had always felt familiar to me and even then, with his face so close to mine that I could feel the warmth of his breath, I had no idea who I thought he was.

"So, you've been the obstacle in my way this whole time." After that, he stopped looking me in the eyes. His gaze travelled a bit downward and yet not so low that I should feel worried.

"That would appear to be the case." He seemed to be watching my lips, what was so interesting about them that he felt the need to stare?

"I've been waiting a long time for this, Yugi."

"Actually, my name is-"

He leaned in closer and, with virtually no space between us, merged his lips with mine. Apparently he didn't care for names. His eyes had already slid shut, while I on the other hand couldn't even manage a simple blink. The shock eventually left my system as did Seto Kaiba and the will to fight him off. He pulled away and smiled at me victoriously

"Was that so bad?" His voice was like silk, I shook my head as to say no.

_What is this feeling?_ I asked myself, not expecting an answer in the slightest. I wondered if my calmness was due to some drug Kaiba had cleverly slipped into my system. I leaned back against the wall and slid down until I was sitting, he followed after me in a kneel.

I could feel my body melting away the second we made contact as he lifted my chin, he was still smiling down at me as the world around us slowly disappeared more and more with each passing second. There was nothing left but us and that's exactly how I liked it.

"I told you I've been waiting, Yugi." He whispered.

"_Atem.._" I whispered back. He seemed puzzled. "My name is _Atem_.._" _I stared up at him with half-lidded eyes and watched his expression change from confused to content.

"Then let it be known, _Atem_, that you are mine. And I won't allow anyone else to have you." I wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that and I didn't care. He leaned down once more to press his lips into mine and in turn, completely out of my own control, my eyes fell shut and I curled my arms around his neck to bring him that much closer to me. He really wasn't that bad of a guy after all.

I felt his arm slither around my waist and pull me in closer. It was around that same time that I started to hear a slight ring in the back of my head. I tried to ignore it but it only grew louder and it was starting to give me a head ache. Slowly but surely, the ring started to sound like actual words through a long tunnel.

"_PHARAOH! Hey! Are you listening?" _It was Yugi's voice, "_Hey, snap out of it!" _

_Yugi? Why do you sound so far away?_

_"You need to snap out of it, Pharaoh. Look at what's happening!" _What was he talking about? I opened my eyes to find out for myself to find the hand of Seto Kaiba pulling to undo my belt. I quickly pulled away from him and got to my feet, averting a few paces to the side. I redid the damage that was done to my belt and wiped my mouth along my sleeve as if there were something disgusting stuck to my face.

"Set-" I shook my head, cutting myself off for correction's sake, "K-Kaiba, what the hell?" I heard the stutter in my voice, hoping that he hadn't.

"Hm.." He paused for a moment to think, "You weren't protesting before."

"Stop this nonsense." The room was getting too warm, I could feel my face heating up. I removed my jacket and threw it on over my shoulders to cool down. "I need to go."

"I don't understand. What just happened?"

"I came to my senses." I headed for the elevator door.

Kaiba rose to his feet and took my hand as I walked by, he spoke with a strict voice, "This stays between us, _Atem._ If word reaches the public, I'll not only have you banned from every competition you could ever imagine, I'll also be forced to tell the world that their King of Games isn't exactly who they think he is." His face had pulled down into a frown.

I scowled at him and made sure to put an extra sense of warning in my voice, "Remove yourself immediately." His hand dropped down to his side and he almost looked hurt, like a kicked puppy. I made my way to the elevator and hit a button. We stood there in silence until the elevator door slid open.

"I'll see you at school." I called over my shoulder, "You don't need to worry about anyone finding out about this." I couldn't look at that sad expression of his any longer, I didn't dare look back at him.

Yugi was quiet the entire walk home, I couldn't even hear what was going on in his head. All my attempts to get something out of him failed horribly, it was almost as though I could feel him turning away from me. On a completely different note, the cold breeze felt nice.

_Yugi, please say something._

Silence

_I don't know what came over me, I'm sorry. I'd never wish to put you in that situation._

This was getting us no where, I gave up for the night and sat at the foot of Yugi's bed once we got home, desperately trying to keep quiet and not wake anyone up. I asked Yugi if he'd go half way with me on our swap so he could get some sleep in the comfort of his own bed, but there was still nothing from him. I felt him there within the puzzle, just sitting there and staring at the ground. It was heart breaking.

I forced the switch myself and once I felt the cold stone beneath me I didn't waste any time making myself comfortable and going to sleep there, it had been a long and tiresome day. I dozed off with high hopes that Yugi would be speaking to me again tomorrow.


	5. The Fight

Yugi rolled onto his side and silenced the blaring siren of an alarm clock that greeted him every morning beside his bed. He settled back down comfortably to get some more sleep.

_Yugi, it's time to get up. You've got school today._

Silence, he still wasn't speaking to me.

_Yugi, it isn't manly to keep a lady waiting for you outside._

He ignored me and rolled onto his other side until our personal advisor, I mean Gramps, walked in and gently shook his shoulder to wake him up.

"Yugi, it's time for school." He nudged his grandson a bit harder, "Yugi, get up, you can't keep a lovely woman waiting."

_That's what I told him._

"I'm not going today, Grandpa." Yugi pulled his blanket over his head. "Can you tell Tea I'm sorry for making her wait?" The old man's face puffed up with irritation, he sat beside Yugi on the bed and looked like he was getting ready to pour out a story neither of us wanted to hear.

"Well, in _my_ day, we weren't allowed to skip class just because we didn't feel like it. Yes, my friends and I were sent to school every single day! Because we never got sick, that's what happens when you take good care of yourself. In my day there were _real _men and _real_ women. We-" Yugi rolled his eyes and forced out a loud, ragged cough that ended up hurting more than it was worth. "Oh you're actually sick? That sounds pretty bad. I'll go tell Tea for you, Yugi."

"Thanks, Grandpa, I wouldn't want her to catch this." Yugi faked a weak voice.

"Tea is such a lovely girl, Yugi, so nice too. She's so fit so she must take very good care of herself. Why, back in my day it would be unjust to leave such a beautiful woman outside on her own like that! Even if we were as sick as dogs, we'd trudge through the snow or heat just to see to it that such a lovely woman made her destination."

_She's too young for you, old man. Move it along._

"Gramps, your stories are making her wait even longer..." The old man realized he was right and patted Yugi's leg reassuringly before pushing himself off the bed and making his leave.

_You lied to your Grandfather, Yugi._

There was still silence.

_Yugi, you can't lie to him and skip class over some silly dispute between us._

I could feel his little body tensing up, he bit down as hard as he could to hold himself back. He squirmed in bed, wondering if it were possible to separate from me. I sighed.

_Yugi, by lying to your Grandfather, you've lied to Tea and the others as well._

_"Yeah, well you kissed an asshole. So I guess we're even." _I blinked. I had never heard Yugi swear before, it took some time to sink in.

_What? _

_"You could have chose anyone, and I mean that, ANYONE in the entire world. But you chose him." _He paused to unclench his teeth, "_You chose the man that hurt my grandpa and put him in the hospital! He stole his Blue Eyes White Dragon and destroyed it!" _I recalled walking in on Yugi's grandfather on the floor in terrible condition after his duel with Kaiba had just ended. I also recall taping the old man's Blue Eyes White Dragon back together.

_Yugi, it was only implied that he was beat- _

_"No! I don't want to hear it! You can't just go behind my back and start loving all over my enemy like that!"_

_I think you'll find that it wasn't behind your back at all._

_"It's a figure of speech, Pharaoh." _Yugi quickly sat up in bed to scowl at the foot of his bed, my usual sitting area.

_I was just as surprised as you were, Yugi._

_"Was that before or after you leaned back in? Because you seemed pretty damn willing to me."_

_What are you talking about?_

_"I'm saying you liked it! 'My name is Atem'." _He mocked, even in the stone cold hallways within the puzzle, I could feel my face heat up with embarrassment. Did I really sound like that? "_ANYONE. But you go for Seto Freaking Kaiba!" _I decided this conversation would be better to have face to face, I removed myself from the puzzle to take my place at the foot of his bed.

_"Yugi, this isn't like you."_

"I hate my math teacher too, why don't you go mack with him and get back to me?" I began to wonder if he even knew what he was saying anymore. I tried not to think too much of his words, surely he'd feel bad about them later... Or at least I hoped he would.

_"Yugi, I'm sorry."_

"None of this would even matter if I knew things would change. But they won't."

_"Yugi, if this upsets you so much then I simply won't see him. An enemy of yours is an enemy of mine, remember?"_

"It doesn't matter! You'll think about him! You'll want to hold him or be held, you'll want to kiss him and before you know it, you'll be challenging him to duels just to have an excuse to see him!" I didn't want to admit it, but he was right. It had only been a night and I already longed for his scent, his arms tightly around me. "STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM WHILE I'M TRYING TO TALK TO YOU."

I blinked. "_Sorry, you were using a lot of detail, it got me thinking." _Yugi puffed out an angry sigh and then there was a long silence until he finally flopped back down into bed and pulled the blanket over his shoulder with another sigh. "Whatever, he's my rival, not yours.. Go run to him for all I care."

_"Yugi..."_ I frowned and moved to set my hand on his shoulder, I knew he wasn't able to feel it but he always seemed to know when to react to these things.

Tea walked through the door without so much as a knock or two, she rushed right on over to stand beside Yugi's bed. She had her arms behind her back the way she always had when she was proud of herself for something or other. Her bow tie seemed to be tied a tad tighter than her usual, but I found her reaching up to play with it every so often.

"Yugi, how are you feeling? I came over as soon as I could." I wanted to bark at her to get the hell out of here until we were finished talking, but she wouldn't be able to hear me anyway.

"You're skipping class to be here..?" Yugi sat up in his bed to look at her.

"Mhm!" She nodded, "Joey and Tristan couldn't make it, but they're going to be here as soon as they can."

"Oh, they don't have to. I'm fine, really, Tea." He was beginning to regret his lie. Tea moved closer to his bed and sat right through me, like I wasn't even there. She pressed her palm to Yugi's forehead, his face lit up and he avoided all eye contact as he fiddled with his thumbs nervously in his lap. He wasn't used to girls being so close to him.

"Oh, be quiet. Your grandpa told me you sounded really bad this morning." I sighed and moved back to the foot of Yugi's bed to wait for them to finish. "Well, you feel fine, is it something else then?"

"Tea.." Yugi looked up at her with a face of red, "I'm not sick, I just wanted a break from school."

"So you lied to your grandpa, Yugi?" The woman looked astonished.

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry." His eyes averted over to me "I'll tell him when I get the chance." I felt like that comment was for me and his change of heart made me smile. Tea turned to follow his gaze and couldn't seem to figure out what he was staring at so intently, I waved to her anyway.

"That isn't like you, Yugi."

_"I've already told him that."_

_"Be nice."_ He hushed me. "I know, I'm just a little stressed out right now. It'll all be better by tomorrow at school, I swear." She blinked.

"Yugi, tomorrow is Saturday, there isn't any school." Her head cocked over to the side "Well, I can tell you're stressed... You've still got your school uniform on." It was only then that Yugi looked down and noticed that he was, in fact, still wearing his school clothes from last night. He let out a groan and ruffled his fingers through his hair. "Are you sure you're feeling alright, Yugi?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm fine. Everything is fine."

"Yugi, I'm your friend. And friends are here to help, I'm worried about you." She set her hand on what she thought would be his leg under the blanket but his small size must have thrown her off a few inches. Yugi flinched about half a mile into the air, his face glowing red as he crashed back down to Earth and backed up against the headboard of his bed.

"Tea, what are you doing?" She blinked again.

"Yugi, you're being so weird today. What's bothering you?"

_"Don't get excited, Yugi, I think she did that on accident."_

_"She put her hand in my lap!"_

"Yugi, you can talk to me..."

_"For the love of Ra, tell her something before she goes into a speech."_

_"But I don't want to get other people involved with our problems.."_

_"You should have thought about that before you skipped school."_

Yugi took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Tea waited patiently beside him, and I just wanted the whole thing to be over and done with.

"The pharaoh and I.." He looked down at his lap, trying to get the image from earlier out of his head "We're just having a little bit of a fight, that's all."

"A fight? But you two are supposed to be partners. What are you guys fighting about?" Now it was my turn to look away.

"It's nothing, just something stupid. I mean.. Well, it seems like he _really_ likes Kaiba and I'd really like them to just stay away from each other..."

"What? _Kaiba?" _Yugi nodded, "Kaiba from school? Seto Kaiba?" He nodded again, "Why _Kaiba _of all people_?_" The woman made a disgusted face and I rolled my eyes.

"I have no idea."

"How could he like someone as heartless as Seto Kaiba?" I frowned, disagreeing with her description of him.

_"Would a heartless man really give everything to help and rescue his little brother?" _I had forgotten she couldn't hear me and usually during such times, Yugi would repeat what I had said for the public to hear. He did no such thing this time.

"Maybe the pharaoh is just turning in a huge jerk like Kaiba and he wants to be with his own kind."

_"Ouch." _I frowned.

Tea scowled, folding her arms under her chest but Yugi didn't seem to agree, "No, I don't think it's like that, Tea..." Her disgust faded away with Yugi's words and a new look of concern grew in its place. "But it won't matter... I'm doing what I can to stop this whole mess."

"Wait, Yugi, are you saying you're going to keep the pharaoh away from Kaiba?"

"Well, yeah..."

She set her hand back down into his lap and I never thought it'd be possible for Yugi's eyes to get any wider. "Yugi, I know you're just looking out for him, but the pharaoh deserves to have a life of his own just like you." He stared down at her hand, frozen red with no idea of how to react. I was beginning to suspect that she wasn't making mistakes at all.

_"Who's side are you on, lady?"_

_"_Yugi, I don't like Kaiba either, he's a terrible person for what he did to your grandpa.. But if he makes the pharaoh happy, then who are we to keep them apart?"

"U-uhh.." He forced a blink, "Y-yeah.. We'll... Um.."

_"On the bright side, Yugi, maybe you should use this to your advantage."_

_"_Shut up!" Tea blinked

"What?"

"What? No! N-not you, Tea... Um.. I meant... Uh.." I snickered.

She climbed up on the bed with one leg on each side of little, terrified Yugi. He thought his heart would pound out of his chest or make a dent at the very least.

"U-uhh, T-Tea..?" He finally managed to look up at her. She took Yugi's wrists and swiftly moved his hands to press against the back of her skirt before her arms could curl gently around his neck. She leaned in until the two were at eye level and began to whisper.

"Why don't you give the pharaoh a break, I mean, he can't control who he loves. Right, Yugi?" Never before had he loved the way she said his name so much. He could feel her breasts pushing against his chest and he wondered if she could feel his heart pounding through.

"I-I ... Guess." It had just then occurred to him where his hands were and how tightly he had been holding on. She smiled softly and leaned in to push her lips into his while reaching behind her to slowly slide his hands under her skirt. I arched an eyebrow, feeling both extremely curious and incredibly awkward.

_"Ah, pink today. Cotton I believe."_

_"Stop looking!"_

She finally pulled away and giggled when she noticed Yugi had been too frozen to even close his eyes during their kiss. "Good, I'm glad to hear it. I know he'll really appreciate it, Yugi. And.. I know I will too." She winked and he recalled once more where his hands were.

His fingers began to move on their own, caressing her hidden skin and finding a way to slide in under the hidden cloth. I was right, it was cotton after all.

_"I never knew you were such a pervert, Yugi."_

_"What?"_

_"Don't play dumb."_

_"You know, you're making this moment very difficult for me to enjoy."_

_"Rings a bell, doesn't it? If you're going to ruin my fun, I intend to return the favor." _I sent a playful smile over in his direction, though I doubt he could see it from his _special_ angle. He sighed and removed his hands from the woman's underwear to look up at her with a continuously red face and half a smile.

"I knew you were better than that." She smiled, kissed his forehead, and pulled herself out of his lap. Tea straightened out her skirt and dusted herself off.

"What..?"

"I knew you cared about me too much as a friend to ruin our relationship by doing something stupid. So I know you can pull through with the pharaoh too." She smiled, putting her hands behind her back.

"_What?"_

_"Here I am, saving your butt again... Will things ever change?" _I sighed

_"She was just making a point?"_

_"I must say, I rather like her new method of friendship speeches."_

She smiled and told Yugi that we should hurry up and settle our problem so we can go back to hanging out. He promised to do what he could and she left to get back to class with Joey and Tristan. We both waited in silence for the final click of the front door.

"She does have a pretty good point though..."

_"That women are manipulative?"_

_"_No, I mean..." He looked up at me with an apologetic smile, "I was being selfish, you should be able to be with whoever you want. It shouldn't matter that I don't like him, that's my problem." I smiled from the foot of his bed and made a mental note to thank Tea for her kind act whenever I got the chance. The creepy old man was right, she was indeed a nice girl.

_"Thank you, Yugi."_


	6. The Conclusion

Our personal advisor walked in announcing that Seto Kaiba had come to see Yugi, looking just as surprised as we did. I hadn't even noticed that school already ended. But the old man wasn't lying, in came Kaiba wearing his coat with the eight foot radius. Again I noticed that we wasn't wearing his duel disk or carrying a briefcase of some kind. If anything, he looked genuinely concerned. We all held perfectly still, perfectly silent until Grandpa left the room and shut the door gently behind him.

"So, you're sick, Yugi." Kaiba finally said as he moved to stand beside my partner, who was still sitting in his bed.

"_What do I tell him?" _Frantic little Yugi asked.

_We won't lie to him. Let me handle this though; I started all this trouble, I'd like to put an end to it as well._

"_Alright," _Yugi warned, "_Just be careful, you know how Kaiba can get… And, well," _He stopped to twiddle his thumbs. "_I just want you to know that I support whatever decision you end up making."_

_Thank you, Yugi. I appreciate that._

"Yugi, I know you're talking to him." Kaiba tried to hold back a scowl. "I can tell by the look on your face." He sat beside Yugi on the edge of the bed and reached out to press his hand against Yugi's forehead.

Yugi jumped about half a mile into the air and came crashing down with stuttered questions of what was going on.

"If you're not feeling well, Yugi, then you should sleep. After all, you're sharing a body with Atem." Kaiba pulled his hand away and wiped it off on the side of his coat.

_Well, it's the thought that counts._

"Kaiba, we- I'm not actually sick. The pharaoh and I were just having a bit of a fight, I stayed home to settle it."

"That's a pretty stupid reason to stay home, Yugi."

"Yeah… I know. I feel silly about the whole thing now."

Sitting in bed doing nothing all day had actually managed to tire out Yugi's little body. I could feel him wanting to let his eyes close and lie his body down. There was some short conversation on what Joey and Tristan had to say during their visit, all about how they think I should stay away from Kaiba. Yugi didn't bother mentioning Tea's visit, the very thought of what she had done earlier that day still made his face warm and his pants tight.

"Kaiba, you couldn't have honestly cared about my health. What's your real purpose here?" Yugi finally asked.

"My intentions are simple, Yugi. Atem _will_ belong to me, but in order for that to happen, I've realized that I have to at least pretend to care about his friends."

My lips curled into a smile that no one could see. He was making an effort to go out of his ordinary way of things, and that was more than I ever expected from him.

"Let me see him, Yugi."

Yugi gave an almost eager nod. Eager to see how I would handle the situation, eager to get some rest, and above all else he was eager for things to get back to normal. We switched places and Yugi almost immediately passed out inside the puzzle, his little body tired and achy from hours of absolute nothingness.

The switch alone wore me out, the first thing I saw after our switch was Kaiba holding me in his arms. It took me a moment to comprehend what had just happened, apparently I had collapsed. And he was kind enough to catch me.

"Kaiba, I-"

"I didn't know trading places required so much energy from you two, you always seemed perfectly fine during our duels." His eyes were soft, concerned even. He held me tighter and I could feel his entire body finally beginning to relax.

"Yes, well, it's easy to fake energy when all you actually move is your hands. I try to make up for it with extra talking…"

"It works."

"Thank you."

"So now, please stop the extra talking during our duels; it's actually quite annoying."

"My apologies."

We took turns interrupting each other and explaining ourselves once he finally let go of me. Kaiba apologized for being so rash the last time we had contact, and was going on about moving much slower; but either way, he stated time and time again that I belonged to him and he wouldn't allow anyone else to have me. But what really made me smile was that he said he was just glad that I was alright.

I didn't want to talk anymore.

"Atem, I want you to-"

That's what duels were for. I crammed my fingers down the collar of his shirt and pulled him against me. Our lips collided, our eyes fell shut, and our hands locked fingers.

We were happy. We didn't need duels or competitions.

I felt my back suddenly pressing down against Yugi's bed and I had wondered how he had moved us without my noticing. Damn his physical persuasive skills.

There was sweat. An unfamiliar pain that I longed to feel from him, and it felt greater with every thrusting motion that fell into rhythm with the others. A cry of pain. No, of pleasure. He collapsed on top of me, panting much faster than me. I wondered if Ra would forgive us for our sins. And then I immediately remembered that I didn't care.

"I love you…" He whispered hot breath in to my ear. With a smile, I close my eyes and pass out in the beads of my own sweat.


End file.
